Internal-combustion engine



April 26, 1927.

l.. M. wQoLsoN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 21. 1923 .Q 9 .7 0o E 3 4 l fr 5 z 5 Patented Apr. 2 6, 192.7..

Ntra-D STATES A 1,626,061 PATENT orifice."lv

LIONEL M. WOOLSON, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A. CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

INTERNAL-couramment ENGINE'.

Application led April 21, 1323. Serial No. 633,595.

This invention relates to internal com-y bustion engines and particularly to methods and means for operating an internal cornbustion engine and for feeding a mixture thereto and to a combustion heater.

In one form of the invention it relates to methods and means Vfor operating a combustion heater for an internal combustion engine, and particularly for forming and feeding acombustible mixture to such heater.

One ot the objects of the invention is to provide a simplev and practical method` of operating a combustion heater.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical method of supplying a constant combustible mixture to a combustion heater.

Another object of. the invention is to provide a simple and practical mixture forming device for a combustion heater.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carburetor which will supply :unvaryingl amounts of fuel for any successive units of time under normal operating conditions. v

Another object ot' the invention is to provide a carburetor in which the liquid fuel is Supplied thereto under a substantially constant gravity head not affected by-the carburetor suction.

Another object of the invention is to pro-` vide a carburetor with varying amounts of air dependent upon the suction and with a substantially constantilow of liquid fuel.

Another object of the invention 1s to pro' vide a novel and practical carburetor for feeding extremely small quantitiesof comy bustible mixture.

Other objects of the invention will ap pear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a general view, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the invention as applied to an internal combustion engine, the Y .section through the lower carburetor part of the vview being` taken substantially on the line l-lof Fig. 2;//and Eig. 2 is a section substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the dust cover being removed.

Internal combustion engines as built toing device of some sort.; In some cases a special vsmall carburetor is used to supply the mixture to the combustion heater, and in others the mixture is withdrawn from the`mixture supply of the main carburetor.

When the combustion heater orfuelizer ""is built into the engine as standard equipment it is not particularly diicult to adapt it to ,the special characteristics ot the engine or the main carburetor, but when an attempt is made to build acombustion heater of this type for use generally on 'motors of several different forms and with carburetors and intake passages of different types, considerable ditliculty arises andheretofore it has not been practical to so build and supply combustion heaters.

The present invention contemplates supplying the engine with lits mixture from the main carburetor and supplying the combustion heater with its mixture from another and differently acting carburetor whereby the engine'may be operated with a richer mixture from the main carburetor when idling than when running with the throttle partly or fully open and the combustion heater may be supplied with a' leanerv mixture when the engine is idling than when the engine is running on partly or fully open throttle. It will be understood that the combustion heater Voperates at its maximuln when the motor is operating at -its minimum because it is at that time that the greatest amount of heat is required for the mixture, the motor supplying its own heat very 'largely when it is operating at partly or fully open throttle.

The invention further contemplates the use of a carburetor for supplying combustible mixture to the combustion heater in which the liquid fuel is supplied at a substantially unvarying rate under normal operating conditions while the for the carburetor is supplied at a varying rate, de ndent upon the suction.

ne form of fthe invention is illustrated in the drawings hereof. Referring thereto, represents an internal combustion enineor .the cylinder block thereof and 11 A1s the intake conduit which supplies the mixture to the engine cylinders. A throttle valve of the butterfly type is shown at 12,

l it being understood that this valve is usuwith liquid fuel by the oat chamber, a

mixturetube 16 surrounding the nozzle and supplied with air by the main air intake passage 17, and an auxiliary air intake passage 18 which is controlled by a valve 19 and a spring 2() which is usually adjustable. A butterfly valve 21 is arranged in the main air passage for choking the air supply when starting in cold weather. The float chamber maintains the liquid fuel at the desired level just nbelow the top of the nozzle 15, in the usual way, and it is supplied with gasoline from a tank 22 through a pipe 23.

vIn this type of carburetor the valve 19 is usually so adjusted that it is closed when the motor is idling and a richer mixture is then supplied to the engine than is obtained Cil when the throttle valve is opened and the suction is sufficient to open the valve 19 against its spring. The carburetor therefore will supply a somewhat ricl'rer mixture when idling than when running on` partly or fully open throttle and this is desirable because a richer mixture is required to opcrate the engine smoothly when idling.

The burner part of the combustion heater shown in Fig. 1 comprises a combustion chamber 24 formed in a suitable casting which is threaded into the intake conduit 11 between the throttle valve 12 and the engine cylinders. This threaded attachment is shown at 25 and the chamber 24 has anV outlet into the intake conduit in the form of a pipe 26 having a cup 27 attached to its lower end, the pipe being formed with lateral openings 28 into the cup, thus providing a circuitous passage for the exhaust gases from the chamber 24 into the intakey conduit 11. A spark plug 29 is secured in one side of the chamber 24 and an inlet cap 30 is threaded in the top of the chamber and rovided with a glass window 31 throu h which the operation of the burner may observed. The inlet cap 30 retains a screen different tanks. l

The carburetor 35 is shown as mounted on a support 38 as by the bolts 39 extending through ears 40 formed on the casting of which the carburetor is made. The outlet of the carburetor is connected to the pipe 34 as at 41.

The casting 35 is formed with a plurality of vertically extending chambers or wells numbered respectively 42, 43, 44, and 46, the latter of which communicates with the pipe 34 as above stated. A dust cover` 47 is secured over the upper ends of the other chambers, being secured to the casting as by screws 48 and being provided with air openings 49 and 47 so that the upper ends of these chambers are always open to the atmosphere.

The chamber 42 is a vfloat chamber of rather usual form, there being a float 50 mounted therein and controlling a valve 51 which thereby regulates the level of the gasoline in the chamber 42. The gasoline,

or other liquid fuel enters the chamber 42 through the screen 52, an a port 53which the valve 51 controls. The level of the liquid is indicated at 54.

The screen 52 above referred to isV secured vto a movable plug 55 so that the screen may be readily cleaned. The screen is preferably of fine mesh so that dirt may be kept from the float chamber and the consequent clogging ofthe outlet from the ioat chamber prevented.

One of the greatest difficulties heretofore encountered in the making ofa small carburetor, or a carburetor adapted to supply a smallquantity of mixture is that the outlet from the float chamber orthe fluid inlet to the carburetor, must be made so small `that it is impracticable from a commercial viewpoint. This is because said inlet has heretofore been subjected to part or all of the suction of the engine and the flow of ipe 37 above referred to, theasi lltl

liquid fuel, therefore, into the carburetor is greatly increased as the suction of the engine increases.

In the present invention an inlet orifice of practical size is used and it is subjected to only the gravity head of the chamber to which it is connected, in the resent case tbe float chamber 42. This ori ce is so far rep moved in effect, from the chamber which is subjected to the engine suction, that said ing amounts of fuel for any successive units of time under normal operating-conditions over a range of speeds or under varying suctions.

The outlet orifice from the float chamber 42, or the inlet orifice for the carburetor,vis indicated at'56. It is formed in a plug 57 threaded into an opening between the float chamber 42 and the adjacent chamber `43, so that the orifice 56 connects those chambers. The orifice 56 may be cleaned or the plug 57 may be removed for cleaning by lirst removing the plug 58 which closes an opening- 59 formed in the casting opposite the plug 57.

The chamber 43 communicates with the chamber 44 by-means of an orifice or passage 60 at the lower ends of the chambers, and the chamber 44 communicates with chamber through a similar passage 6l. Each of these passages and 6l is preferably larger than the passage or orifice 456 so that there is free passageffor all of the fuel that may be fed bythe orifice 56.

A somewhat larger passage 62 connects the cham-ber 45 at its lower end so that the liquid fuel may be fed to the inside of the nozzle.' The nozzle 63 has an opening 64 at its lower end and it extends upwardly in the chamber 46 to a contracted part 65 thereof and the upper end of the nozzle also is slightly above the normal level 54 of the fuel in the float chamber 42. An air passage 66 extends between the upper ends -of chambers 45 and 46, for diluting the mixture formed in thelupper part of chamber 46, and thispassage is regulated by a valve 67 which is inthe `nature of a plug or bolt as shown particularly in Figs. l and 2. The bolt extends to the outside of the casting -as shown particularly in Fig. 2 and after being set in any desired position it is locked by a nut 68 thereon.-

The operation of this carburetor may be described as follows: `Withvthe'internal cornbustion engine at rest so that there is no suction through the burner chamber 24 of the fuelizer and the pipe 34 which connects the latter with the carburetor 35, the liquid level' in the carburetor is as indicated in Fig, l, this level'being the same in alll of the chambers-42, 43, 44, 45 and 46. lVhen the engine is turned over for starting, with the throttle valve l2 nearly closed, there will be suction in the pipe 34 and consequently in the upper end of the chambers 46. This suction will draw some air through the valve opening 66 and considerable gasoline from the lower part of the chamber 46, thus passing a rich mixture to the pipe 34, and consequently to the chamber 24 of the combustion heater. This rich mixture will be .ignited by the spark plug 29 and will continue for some time as the engine 4iswarming up because the carhuretor will not begin to operate normally until the accumulated gasoline in the chambers 43, 44, 45 and 46 has been used up. Thus, the gasoline in chamber 46 will first be used and that from chamber 45 will flow into it through the passage 62 and will be used up also. As all three chambers 43, 44 and 45 are o en to the atmosphere at their upper en s the suction on thechamber 46 will be considerably more than in the chamber 45 and in the latter it will be more than in the chamber 44 as the chamber 44 f is emptied of gasoline through the passa e 6l. As the gasoline iiows out ofA cham er 43 through the passage 60 the depression orsuction of chamber 46 is so far reduced through the successive chambers that the chamber 43 is practically at atmospheric pressure. The flow of gasoline, therefore, into chamber 43 through the orifice 56 is due entirely to the head of liquid in the float chamber 42 and it is not affected in any way by the suction of the mixing chamber 46.

It will be seen, therefore, that after the chambers or wells 46, 45, 44 and 43 have had their supplies'of gasoline exhausted by the initial operation of the engine, the sole supply of gasoline to the mixing chamber 46 will come from the orifice 56 which is undef 'a low head of gravity pressure only and with the passages 60 and'61 so much smaller than the open'upper ends of chambers 45 and 44, vthe continued operation of the eugine draws air through those chambers and with it the small quantity of gasoline passing through the orifice 56 into the chamber Thereafter, as the suction increases, more air will be drawn through the cascade of vertical chambers and yet the same quantity' of gasoline per unit of time will be de-. livered to the carburetor and consequently the mixture will be leaner than on the lighter suction. In other words, the carburetor will feed a relatively lean mixture to Y,

the combustion/chamber 24 under high suction and a relatively rich mixture thereto v under low suction, and the degree of richness may be adjusted b valve 67 which controls t e port or passage at the upper ends of the chambers 45 and 46. This means that'the combustion heater will operate on a relatively lean mixture when the motor is idling and is consequently being fed a rich mixture by the main carburetor 13 and asomewhat richer mixture will be fed to the combustion chamber 24 when the suction through the combustion turning the airheater -is less, as wlfen the throttle valve 12 is partly or' fully opened. With this lesser suction through the chamber 24ithe somewhat richer mixture is desirable because of the lesser speed of the gas through the chamber 24. Moreover, the heater is not required to supply so much heat under those conditions as when the motor is idling because the motor itself will supply enough heat when the throttle is partly or fully open.

While I have herein described in some detail a specific embodiment of my invention, which I deem to be new and advantageous and may specifically claim, I do not desire it to be understood that my invention is limited to the exact details of the construction, as it will be apparentA that changes may be made therein without departing' from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: .l 1. A method of voperating a fuelizer consisting in feeding a rich mixture to the comfbustion chamber under low suction condit-ions and a less rich mixture under high suction.

2. A method of operating a combustion heater consisting in feeding a relatively lean mixture to the combustionchamber under high suction and a relatively rich mixture thereto under low suction;

3. A method of operating an internal combustion engine having a combustion heater, consisting in f 0 a richer mixture to the engine when id ing than when running with the throttle open while at the same 'time ceding a'leaner mixture to the combustion heater when the engine is id than when the 4engine is running on part y or fullylopen throttle.

4. AV device of the character described including in combination a combustion chamber and a carburetor for su plying combustible mixture toSaidcham r, said carburetor includi'n a mixing chamber and means to supply sa1d chamber with vunvarying amounts only of fuel for 'any units of time,

under normal varying suction conditions.

5. In an internal combustion engine`having an intake manifold, a carburetor for supplying properly proportioned combustible mixture to said manifold, a combustion.

chamber having communication with said manifold on the cylinder side of the throttle valve, a second carburetor connected tosup- 'ply combustible mixture to said chamber, said second carburetor constructed and arranged to carburet only unvaryingamounts` of fuel for any successive units of time under normal operating A conditions over a range of speeds.

6. In an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold, a carburetor for Supplying properly proportioned combustible mixtureL to said manifold, a`con1bustion chamber having communication with said manifold on the cylinder side of the throttle Cnf fuel per unit of time regardless of the artly or fully speed or suction of the motor.

8. The method-of operating a combustion heater for internalcombustion engines consisting in feeding a stubstantially constant amount of fuel per unit of time regardless of the suction and mixing air with said fuel in amounts varying with the suction in the heater whereby a richer mixture is obtained under low suction conditions than `under high.

In testimony whereof I atlix my s1gnature;

LIONEL M. y VVOOLSON 

